Sunday, October 11, 2009

Guidelines to job interviews help you prepare better for that crucial make or break moment with the employer. Prepare well for your interview.

After searching every job ads pages of every newspaper and every job sites, you are finally called in for an interview. Although securing an employment and not the interview itself is your main goal, passing the interview is a very important phase.

An interview is your opportunity to present yourself, your talents and what you can offer potential employers. You very well know that competition for employment is tough these days. So you have to be well prepared and make the best impression in your job interview. Here are eight guidelines about interview to help you get the job.

Know where the company is. You think this is just a minute detail but it can make a big difference. You do not want to arrive late (and stressed) at your appointment. Prior to the interview, conduct your research and know where the company is exactly located. This important information gives you a rough estimate of your travel time.

Make sure to arrive at the place at least 15 to 20 minutes to allow yourself to freshen up and go to the powder room if you must. Many companies also ask their applicants to fill out application forms prior to the interview proper so the extra time will enable you to accomplish this without pressure.

Your appearance is as significant as your substance. The way you walk, the way you carry yourself and your fashion style speak a lot about you. Researches say that 65% of communication is nonverbal. Image and gestures are powerful factors in a job interview. So you must look decent, confident, poised and smart. Always create an impressive first impression.

Know your talents and potentials. Be confident of yourself and of what you can contribute to the company. Keep in mind your skills, education, working experience and training. Be ready to answer the common job interview questions like, "what makes you the best candidate for the job?" and "what do you have to offer the organization?"

Show a positive manner. This means providing positive responses to seemingly negative-based questions at all times. Never ever give negative criticisms of previous employer/s. You have to keep going even though you made a mistake in some instances. Employers are generally impressed with an optimistic attitude.

Be tactful and honest. Tact and honesty are signs of professionalism and good breeding. Answer all the recruiter's questions tactfully and honestly. Most interviewers are trained and experienced when it comes to assessing people's personality. they will always know if you are being truthful or not. This will greatly affect your chances of getting into the second interview and clinching the position as well.

Keep eye contact. Remember that eyes are powerful. Most recruiters and executives take notice of the body language of a potential worker and this covers posture, mannerisms and eye contact. Avoid looking away when hard questions are thrown into you. Maintain eye contact and smile during hand shakes and introductions, as this shows openness and friendliness.

Keep responses clear, concise and specific. You need not give long, irrelevant details to questions except if you are asked to provide more details. Limit your answers to not more than 3 minutes per question. Be specific and give quantifiable as well as concrete information. Avoid the tendency to over generalize.

Be prepared with your success stories. Do this by creating a list containing your skills and accomplishments. Think back of your previous work experience and choose two or three cases wherein you were able to successfully utilize your skills.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Once you are at the stage of applying for university places think about what area of your study you have been most keen on or excelled in, this is not always a clear cut decision as a lot of students still don't really know what they want to do in the future or what degree will get them there. It cant harm to create a list in these circumstances and writing down the subjects you have enjoyed most from your academic career do far and adding in things you enjoy outside of study, for example sport or music. This way you should come up with a list of skills and subjects that interest you then you can match them to courses at universities to find one to suit you.

Applying
When you decide to apply for university begin by looking online for universities that offer courses in the area of study that you are interested then take some time to look around their website and apply to have their prospectus sent to you these things will help you to get a feel for what the university can offer and how they teach their subject and what the local area is like for off campus activities. It is worth researching thoroughly at this stage as this decision can affect your future career prospects. If you know someone at a particular university ask for their views on the university. At this stage try not to just follow the crowd, your friends may be going to a certain university, but make sure that it ticks all your boxes as although social life is important in university you meet loads of new people wherever you go.

League tables
When applying it is worth checking out the university league tables, these do vary year on year and some are certainly better performers than others both in course content and status. Cambridge and oxford will consistently be in the top UK universities league tables and are certainly recognised both in academic and general society as good universities. But they are not always accessible to all, both in terms of achieving the right grades and being able to afford the fees. Use the league table as a guide to check out the universities that perform best in your chosen area of study.

Accepting the right place
Once you have applied and nervously awaited responses from your carefully chosen universities, it is worth remembering it is possible to be accepted by all the universities you applied to. At this point you can re visit the information you already know about the universities and also it is worth noting that some universities are looked upon more favourably than others by recruiters once you have finished your degree roughly 65% of employers target universities based on their reputation for providing quality courses and the reputation the institute has in the employers specific area. Even when it comes to the application process some university qualifications could be seen as producing a better grade of candidate. Some university degrees can lead to higher earnings in the future too.

Scholarships
Scholarships can be an added boost to those who have the academic capabilities but not the funds to attend universities of their choice such as Cambridge and oxford. Obtaining a scholarship could greatly enhance your career prospects in terms of employability and earnings.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

I have conducted hundreds of employment interviews for positions ranging from manufacturing shop floor to the executive level. After awhile you begin to notice that successful candidates did certain things that contributed to their positive outcome. Likewise, unsuccessful candidates had certain other actions in common which led to their not being chosen or did not help them.

Hiring managers tell me they can see if someone is right for the organization minutes after the handshake. In a recent Robert Half survey, executives polled said they typically form an opinion of a candidate within the first ten minutes of an employment interview. With such a short amount of time to interact with a hiring manager, what can the candidate do to achieve a positive response?

The most macho of people can be daunted and undone when it comes to facing a job interview. Like public speaking, many have interviewing on their list of their top five most dreaded things to experience. Is it possible to embrace or almost enjoy job interviews? Answer: yes. Following are some behaviors to keep in mind that should help maximize your potential for a successful outcome:

Be cool. A great way to make a good first impression in an interview is to master the interview butterflies. I agree, this can be very hard, but you must try. Feeling stress is a natural response to the interviewing process, and most candidates experience it at some level. The trick is not to show it.

Leverage. Though most aspects of the interview are outside a candidate's control, it is important to leverage the things that are in your power. One example: give yourself a time cushion, and plan to arrive at the interview destination 10-15 minutes early. The consequences of arriving late to an interview are huge. Even if only a few minutes late, you will arrive breathless and already on the defensive. Your goal for the interview is to appear confident and in control, and the need to give excuses for tardiness is inconsistent with that goal. Planning for some extra time in case you get lost or find unexpected traffic travel conditions also allows you to compose yourself and relax a little. Sweaty palms also do not help achieve your goal of a confident persona. Practice at getting yourself to gear down through use of long, slow breathing and other time-tested relaxation techniques.

Anticipate questions. Another thing successful job candidates do is to anticipate questions they are likely to be asked, and give pre-thought to the answers. This bit of preparation will be a confidence booster and stress reliever. Whether any or all of those specific questions are asked, many of the answers often prove useful with respect to other questions. The more pre-work you do for the interview, the more it calms nerves.

No matter what your career experience, doing these behaviors will help you get an edge over the competition for that new job.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Continuing our series of looking at finance jobs, in this article we are going to look at Management Accountants. The role of a Management Accountant is often best suited to individuals with strong problem solving skills within financial situations. They will be expected to use upto date financial data to find ways to cost save, aid growth and profitability. Recommended changes can be anything from changing a supplier to introducing new procedures to the business.

A Management Accountant can work in house for an individual client or work for an accountancy firm, where their services will be offered to multiple clients. The training and benefits packages are often what help potential candidates choose where to work. Tasks and activities a Management Accountant will perform will range from preparing financial documents and statements, keeping check of spending, cutting costs, helping in financial decisions and providing general financial help to departments and managers.

Businesses will use Management Accountants to make sure they are following financial governance requirements and regulations. Depending on the size of the business that the Management Accountant works for, they may have a team to help them in their duties.

The role requires candidates to work traditional business hours, but at the end of each month and year, it tends to get busy and they will be required to work some extra hours. Skills that recruiters will look for in Management Accountants include good analytical skills, maths skills, computer skills, problem solving, understanding of business, attention to detail, presentation skills and good team working skills. Management Accountants are expected to either have professional qualifications or be working towards gaining them.

The most popular accountancy body in this line of work is the CIMA, but there are another five institutes you can also qualify with.

Fully qualified Management Accountants need to have passed their exams and have three years work experience. To get a full CIMA accreditation, they will need to pass 14 exams.

Once individuals become fully qualified they will become very popular and in demand. There are many paths they can take that will lead to lucrative career opportunities. Trainees in this line of work can earn up to £26,000 but as soon as they pass their exams, then can earn around £45,000. More senior Management accountant jobs can expect a salary of up to £100,000 and great bonuses. For more information on Management Accountant jobs speak to a finance recruitment specialist.

When new college graduates enter into their new careers, it is usually a time of excitement that is accompanied with a feeling of accomplishment. However, when you have already spent years at a career before you have to make a switch and start over, then it is a much more difficult experience. You may need to rethink your career objectives, or even consider training for a new career entirely.

There are many reasons that adults have to start over with new careers. They may have lost their job due to downsizing, closing of a company, leave of absence for an illness or a number of other reasons. The state that our economy has been in for the past several years has resulted in the loss of a number of jobs and closing of businesses that have been established and operating for many years. These conditions have led to a large number of adults who are looking for a new start.

For others, it may be a matter of setting things right. After several years of performing in a job that they are unhappy with, they may decide to quit their job and go after a new career that they have always dreamed of. Getting stuck in a field that you are unhappy with is a situation that should be remedied whenever possible. If you aren't happy at your workplace, those negative feelings will probably spill over into other areas of your life.

There are some ways that you can make the change in careers much easier. By preparing yourself and having a better idea of what to expect, you can increase your confidence and make yourself comfortable in your new surroundings. This is a good way to start a career that will be successful for a long time.

- Keep reminding yourself that this is going to be a positive experience. This is your opportunity to have a career that makes you happy and you deserve it.

- Be confident. If you have been hired to do a job, then you obviously had the qualifications that mattered to your employer. Don't go into it doubting yourself.

- Go the extra mile. Don't be a stickler about sticking to your job description. If you help a company out when they are in a bind, it may benefit you when it is time for promotions.

- Make yourself a valuable asset to the company. Starting out, you will likely be at the bottom of the totem pole. If the company relies on you for important functions, you will be less likely to be cut if they need to downsize later.

- Learn everything you can about your new job. If there is company literature that everyone else ignores, read it and learn it. Study up on any systems you have to use and try to improve your job skills as much as possible.

A positive attitude can be the best tool in your arsenal when it comes to retraining or considering a new career path.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

If you're one of many who think getting travel insurance is an unnecessary cost, think again. With single multi trip cancellation insurance premiums being comparatively low, it's worthwhile considering buying some form of insurance when you want to travel. Gone are the days when you had little choice but to buy your travel insurance from the travel agent. With the internet, it is now so easy to search for the cheapest insurance deals, check out just exactly what is being covered and compare the various deals online before committing.

Just think, you don't even have to leave the house and spend any money or energy going from place to place just to find the right travel insurance package for yourself. It could well be a backpackers travel insurance type of plan is all you need. What's more, you don't have to deal with pushy sales people any more so you need not worry that you might be buying something you don't need. And really, that's the key here.

Some people who are too lazy to go through the checklist of items covered simple choose the most expensive one. Or it could be that they're afraid they might be under insured so they go for the one that covers everything. The truth is that you don't need to waste money buying the most expensive travel insurance.

For example, if you are going on a trekking holiday and won't be driving a rented car, then buying a plan that covers auto insurance is a waste of money. Look into what kind of trip you are going on and the activities you will be doing. If you are going on a cross-country drive, then you will need auto insurance and possibly air evacuation in the event of an accident. If you are going to be staying inside a city, then chances are you won't need those at all.